Latch for slidable side jaw wrenches



Jan. 15, 1952 c s ETAL 2,582,591

LATCH FOR SLIDABLE SIDE JAW WRENCHES Filed June 26, 1950 I. g z

ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 15, 1952 LATCH FoR SLIDABLE SIDE WRENCHES' Maxwell and Arthur G. Hicks, q Denver,0olo. Application .i ie zs', 1950', Serial No. 170,398

1 Claim. 101. 81-145) This invention relates in general to wrenchesand in particular to an adjustable wrench withone fixed jaw and one sliding jaw with rack and rack engaging lock.- i

In the'design' of adjustable wrenches; with which the prior art is replete, several important factors are involved. First; is ease and rapidity of adjustment and release. Second; is "simplicity of construction-witha minimum number of parts and 'third; is strength and'a high factor-of safety.

When setting a wrench to a bolt head or nut it is desirable to eliminate the old time-consuming process'of repeated-setting and trying the wrench until its adjustment is correct.

Oftentimes, 'a mechanic who is a bit careless or; who; is presse'dfor time .willnot take thelnecessary precaution to properly adjustrthe wrench', and when forceis applied whileturning a nut the wrench will slip, resulting in injury to the mechanic and damage to the nut. I

In other wrenches; once setto the nut; adjust-' ment may be accidently altered when the wrench is laid downand moved around,.,and when .the mechanicstarts to use it. again he .must readjust it.

With our wrench the setting; is quickly and easily made and once set the wrench will remain in adjusted position regardless of'how the wrenc is handled until a new setting is desired. 1

ZTheobjects of our invention are, first; -'to pro vide an adjustable wrench with one fixed jaw and one movable jaw, a rack on the movable jaw, a. rack catch or lock normally urged into engagement with the rack to hold the movable jaw against movement, and means for temporarily moving the rack lock out of engagement with the rack to permit sliding movement of the movable jaw for adjustment thereof in relation to the fixed jaw.

Second; to provide a wrench of the class described which can be easily and quickly adjusted to the nut which is to be turned and which can be quickly released therefrom.

Third; to provide a wrench of the class described which can be adjusted in small incremerits.

Fourth; to provide a wrench which when adjusted will not have any play to affect the adjustment.

Fifth; to provide a wrench with one fixed and one sliding jaw, and a sliding jaw engaging member movable transversely into and out of jaw engaging position.

Other objects and advantages as well as the construction and operation of our invention will 2 be apparent by reference to the following specification in connection with the accompanying drawing in which: I Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of the wrench comprising our invention, with'the jaws in open" position. r

Fig. 2' is a top plan view of the same.

Fig. 3 is a view similar toFig. 1 with parts broken away in section on line 33 of Fig. 2, to better illustrate certain other parts. Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view of the wrench with parts in section showing the jaws abutting each other and the jaw engaging member in re-" leasedposition.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view on the line 55 of Fig. 4. j

Referring now to the drawing by numerals of reference, 1' designates the wrench handleor body with enlarged head 2 and fixed jaw 3 extending therefrom. I

' The head 2 ,is provided with a slotted guid web 8 slidable in the reduced slot 5 and a transverse rack 9 mountable for sliding movement in the transverse slotted guide 4. A stop pin l0 prevents removal of the sliding jaw I and limits its'maximum opening' The rack as shown is substantially the same length as the slotted guide 4 in which it is positioned. The jaws 3 and I will always remain in parallel relation.

A rack catch or look I l is positioned in chamber 6 and is normally urged into engagement with rack 9 by spring l2 held in place at one end in the body of the wrench. The bottom edge H of rack lock ll rides on surface 6 of chamber 6.

The upper end of the rack lock H abuts flattened pin l3 against which the rack lock slides as it is moved into and out of rack locking position.

A rack lock lever I4 is pivoted at [5 in chamber 6 and is provided with circular end l6 which engages slightly larger circular opening I! in the rack lock H. Pressure on the rack lock lever M will cause rectilinear movement of the rack lock to release the rack lock from the rack 9 permitting free sliding movement of the rack and slidable jaw I. Release of finger pressure on the rack lock lever will permit the spring I2 to urge the rack lock into engagement with the rack. This essentially is the operation of our wrench.

4 in transverse relation to the fixed jaw 3. A re-; duced slot 5 cooperates with slotted guide 4 in a'" With the rack released by finger pressure on the rack lock lever, the wrench is placed on a nut with the fixed jaw bearing against the nut. The slidable jaw is then forced against the other side of the nut and the rack lock lever released. The wrench can be taken oif the nut without affecting the adjustment. When laid down the adjustment of the wrench will not change as is true with rather adjustable wrenches which may be moved around on a bench top or the like.

If it is desired to move the slidable jaw to fully extended position it is merely necessary to hold the wrench with the rack in *subs'tan tially vertical position and the slidable jaw downward, and then push the rack lock :leve'r I4, the rack and jaw gravitating to full open positionl Theraek'look -H will engage a substantialipor tion of the rack, and the stresses, when the wrenches under pressure, will be Well distributed, although .very' little force is transmitted-through theteeth of'the rack or rack lock except-what passes therethrough and is -exerted on thesurfacet of the chamber 6. 7 I

-When underfpressure turning a nut, the shoulder I8 ofsliding-j-aw I will bear against the face idoithe -enlargedhead ;2 and also the offset edges 20 of the rack will bear against edges 2] of the ftransverse slotted guide 4. The-large amount of bearing surface will provide a much greater factor-of safety than necessary in such a tool.

{From the, foregoing it will be seen that we have provided a relatively simple and eificient adjustable w e c which can be uickly and ea's'ily'ad'justed to fit'the nut onwhich "it is-to he used, and which will not have its adjustment acciden'tally changed when the wrench is not being used.

It obvious that changes in form, proportion and details bi'honstrue'tioh may "be resorted to Without departing from the shift of dur'i'nvention, and we reserve all rights to such changes as :come within thesc ope of these specifications and'the claim which follows.

.What 'we 'claim asnew and'd'esire to secure by Heftters Patent is:

* In "an "adjustable Wrench, 'an enlarged head, a

fixed jaw extending from the head,,a slotted guide in the head, oppositely disposed reduced slots on two sides of the slotted guide, a rack slidably carried in the slotted guide, a reduced toothed web on one side of the rack and positioned in one of the reduced slots, at second reduced web carried by the opposite side of the rack and positioned in the other deduced slot, a saw bar ried by the "last mentioned web, an exterior bearing surface on the enlarged head,

.bearing surface on the jaw adapted to ride a the rack bearing aganist the slotted guide "at the reduced slots therein, a reduced slot extension in the-"enlarged head, a flat surface in the reduced slot extension transverse to the slotted guide in the head, a pin spaced from the flat surface and having a fiat portion parallel to J said flat surface, a rack lock positioned in the the :pin, a rack Jock -,1ever opera-tiv-ely connectegl to the rack lock and having a portion thereoi extending from the enlarged head, agspring-non mally urging the racklock .into engagement with CIT ED The zfollowing refeienees iare s wdrm m file or this paitent';

UNITED STATESPATEN'I'S V 

